Senator J. Kyl's proposal to amend an appropriations bill with legislation prohibiting online gaming was defeated in the Senate this Thursday. Senator Kyl is fighting his battle against online gaming for almost a decade now, but has never succeeded in his efforts to ban it, as illustrated by his latest attempt.
The appropriations bill was aimed at securing funds for the US government of commerce and justice. Democratic leaders successfully objected to the amendment by arguing it should be included in a bill of the Banking and Finance committee instead of an appropriations bill. The objection was passed by a majority vote.
If Kyl's amendment had been attached to the bill this would have avoided lengthy negotiations by various sub-committees, including the Banking and Finance committee. Though Kyl commented "We will be back," it is unlikely that Kyl will manage to get his bill passed later this year, given the full schedule of the Senate.
Online gaming is considered illegal by the US Department of Justice, and there's widespread political support to prohibit it. Even so, Kyl has been defeated time and time again in his efforts to stop online gaming. His biggest problems are exemptions demanded by special interest groups from the Horseracing industry, Indian Casinos and some individual states like Nevada.